BIG BODIES HELPED PAVE ROAD TO CANTON

Tomlinson showed his gratitude with gifts for linemen along the way

Four big-bodied blockers sat side by side, their elbows bumping and bodies squeezing into a thin row of white chairs.

LaDainian Tomlinson was never too big to pay respect to them.

En masse, they repeated the gesture.

Kris Dielman, Nick Hardwick, Jeromey Clary and Mike Goff were among several former Chargers teammates of Tomlinson’s to attend his retirement ceremony, held late Monday morning inside a large tent at Chargers Park.

Tomlinson says he always appreciated his blockers.

He made sure they knew it, too, offering glamorous gifts along the way.

“I always felt like they were my best friends,” Tomlinson, 32, said, nodding toward the towering group in the fourth row. “I used to always do things for them just out of the goodness of my heart because they never got any credit for it, but they battled their butts off in the trenches. I always tried to make them feel special when I could.”

Goff wore a black collared shirt and blue jeans to the ceremony.

Thanks to LT, he can do better.

The retired guard has a special suit he wears on special occasions, courtesy of the NFL’s No. 5 all-time rusher and, one would expect, first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2017.

Goff can wear the suit — and the matching shoes that accompany it — when Tomlinson is enshrined.

“My wife saw me in this outfit, and she said, ‘Wow, that’s really classy,’ ” Goff said. “I said ‘Yeah. LT’s guy got it for me.’ It’s my go-to suit because I know it all matches. He is, by far, the best dresser I’ve ever been around. … Thank you, LT. It’s just little things like that.”

There are bigger gifts.

Hardwick runs through a list of presents he’s received: suits; tickets around the world; a trip to the Pro Bowl.

That last one, Hardwick says, stands out. The Chargers center traveled with his fellow linemen to Hawaii after Hardwick’s 2004 rookie season, two years before the veteran would punch his own ticket.

“That was huge for us,” Hardwick said. “It was just a big bonding moment for the offensive line. We felt like champs that week, just to ride out together and have a great time. As far as gifts go, that was really special.”

There are bigger gifts.

In 2006, Tomlinson had a historic campaign. He scored more touchdowns, 31, and points, 186, in a single year than anyone before, the latter mark breaking Paul Hornung’s record of 176 set in 1960.

Every time he found the end zone, the celebration didn’t change.

He quickly flipped the football off his fingers before sharing the moment with his teammates.

A gift to them.

“You look at so many kids now,” said Goff, who, at 36, says he’s old enough to call players “kids.” “It’s all about flash and this and that. LT had his signature, trademark end-zone celebration, and that was it. He went to find the people that blocked for him. It wasn’t about him holding his jersey or making a spectacle out of himself.”

There are bigger gifts.

And they aren’t charged to a card, and they don’t hang in a closet, and they’re stored in a place so valuable, so sacred, Dielman retired in part to preserve them.

Tomlinson gave his linemen memories, they said Monday.

When they reflect on their NFL careers, they’ll have the Tomlinson times: the broken records and big plays, the off-the-field laughs and year-round Super Bowl chases.

They have no ring to wear, but they don’t walk empty-handed.

“Now that we have some perspective and get a little distance on it,” Hardwick said, “it was an unbelievable run that he put together.”

“Sorry,” he said finally. “I get caught up in the middle of thinking of some of the runs he had. I was thinking of that Washington Redskins walk-off touchdown (in 2005). There’s different plays where he’d just jump over someone, just accelerate over the top, going for the goal line.”

When Tomlinson’s No. 21 jersey is retired, they’ll remember the ride.

When his 29th touchdown in 2006 is replayed again and again in franchise lore, with his teammates hoisting him in the end zone, they’ll remember their vantage point.

“It’s just something that you’ll never forget,” Dielman said. “I don’t have to look at the numbers. I was a part of it. I was a part of greatness, and it was awesome. It was awesome to watch. I mean, I had the best seat in the house. ...

“My kids are going to be asking about this guy. They’re getting to that age where they’re speaking, so I’ll be able to tell great stories about him.”